The Xuan Zong emperor; under his rule the last of the voyages of Zheng He took place.

The admiral died during this voyage.

Back to Table of Contents 7 
To next page
Xuanzong Shih-lu (1438)
(Veritable records of Emperor Xuanzong) 
---------------------------------------
Mingshilu 明實錄 "Veritable records of the Ming dynasty" is a collection of chronologically arranged records (edicts, protocols) from the Ming court. It covers the whole course of the Ming period (1368-1644). Its forth part is the Xuanzong Shih-lu (1438). Xuanzong Zhang Huangdi shilu 1425-1435 about the emperors Hongxi 洪熙 and Xuande 宣德. Written by the official Yang Shiqi 1438.

Taken from : Geoff Wade, translator, Southeast Asia in the Ming Shi-lu: an open access resource, Singapore: Asia Research Institute and the Singapore E-Press, National University of Singapore,
http://epress.nus.edu.sg/msl/entry/1131
http://epress.nus.edu.sg/msl/entry/1631

Also called Che-lou of Siuan-to
Was written at the end of the reign of every emperor. They were all bundled and published as the Ming-Shih-lu  (veritable records of the Ming emperors)

Yuan 67.3b-4a
Xuan-de (1): Year 5, Month 6, Day 9 (29 Jun 1430)
The Eunuch Director Zheng He (6) and others were sent with an Imperial proclamation to go and instruct the various fan countries (2). The proclamation read: "I have respectfully taken on the mandate of Heaven and reverently inherited the Great Rule from the Tai-zu Gao Emperor (3), the Tai-zong Wen Emperor (4) and the Ren-zong Zhao Emperor (5). I rule over the ten thousand states, manifest the supreme benevolence of my ancestors and spread peace to all things. I have already issued a general amnesty to all under Heaven and declared the commencement of the Xuan-de (1) reign. All has begun anew. You, the various fan countries (2) far across the ocean, will not yet have heard. Now I am especially sending the Eunuch Directors Zheng He (6) and Wang Jing-hong (7) carrying this proclamation with which to instruct you. You must all respect and accord with the Way of Heaven, care for your people and keep them in peace. Thus will you all enjoy the prosperity of Great Peace." Variegated silks, as appropriate, were to be conferred upon the rulers or chiefs of all 20 countries through which the eunuchs were to pass, including Hormuz (8), Sri Lanka, Calicut, Melaka, Cochin (9), Bu-la-wa (10) (Brava), Mogadishu, Nan-bo-li (11), Samudera (12) , La-sa (13), Liu-shan (14), Aru (15), Gan-ba-li (16), Aden, Zuo-fa-er (17), Zhu-bu (18), Jia-yi-le (19) and so on, as well as the Old Port Pacification Superintendency (20).

Yuan 105.1a
Xuan-de (1): Year 8, Month Intercalary 8, Day 1 (14 Sep 1433)
Ha-li Zhi-mo (21) (Alt: Ha-li Zhi-han) and others who had been sent by his elder brother Zai-nu-li A-bi-ding (22), the king of the country of Samudera (12); the envoy Ge-bu-man-du-lu-ya (23) and others who had been sent by Bi-li-ma (Alt: Bu-li-ma)(24), the king of the country of Calicut; the envoy Jia-bu Bi-li-ma (25) and others who had been sent by Ke-yi-li (26), the king of the country of Cochin (9); the envoy Men-ni-de-nai (27) and others who had been sent by Bu-la-ge-ma-ba-hu-la-pi (28), the king of the country of Sri Lanka; the envoy Ha-zhi Hu-xian (29) and others who had been sent by A-li, the king of the country of Zu-fa-er (30); the envoy Pu-ba and others who had been sent by Mo-li-ke Na-si-er (31), the king of the country of Aden; the envoy Duan Si-li Jian (32) and others, who had been sent by Dou-wa-la-zha (33), the king of the country of Gan-ba-li (16); the fan (2) person Ma-la-zu (34) and others who had been sent by Sai-fu-ding (35), the king of the country of Hormuz (8); the envoy A-du-ru-ha-man (36) and others who had been sent by the king of the country of Jia-yi-le (19); and the chieftain Sha-xian (37) and others who had been sent by the king of the country of Mecca; all came to Court and offered tribute of giraffes, elephants, horses and other products. The Emperor held an audience at Feng-tian Gate (38) to receive them. As the giraffe is an auspicious animal, Hu Ying (39), the Auxiliary Minister of Rites led the joint ministers in offering felicitations. The Emperor said: "I have no fondness for things from foreign lands. I am receiving them because I appreciate the envoys coming from afar to demonstrate their great loyalty. There is not need for felicitations."

(Taken from: modern dictionary T z'u yuan )
In Hsuan-te (1) (1426-1435) of the Ming the Pien-hsiu;  Hsu Lin presented to the emperor a poem on the four beasts of good omen, ch'i-lin (giraffe), shih-tzu (lion), fu-lu (zebra), and hsuan hu (black tiger).

(1) Xuan-de; Hsuan-te: Hsüan-te reign (1426–36). Also known as Xuande Emperor.

(2) fan countries: tribute paying countries

(3) Tai-zu Gao Emperor: Tai zu Gao huang di 太祖高皇帝(1328-1398). This is the emperor Zhu Yuanzhang 朱元璋, founder of the Ming dynasty, r. 1368-1398, reign title hong wu 洪武.

(4) Tai-zong Wen Emperor: This is one of the names of the second emperor of the Ming dynasty; better known as the Yongle Emperor (1360-1424).

(5) Ren-zong Zhao Emperor: This is one of the names of the third emperor of the Ming dynasty; better known as the Hongxi Emperor (1378-1425).

(6) Eunuch Directors Zheng He: see my webpage on Note on Cheng Ho.

(7) Wang Jing-hong: 王景弘 (died c. 1434) was a deputy to Zheng He on his treasure voyages from 1405 to 1433. He led an eighth voyage to Sumatra but is said to have died in a shipwreck on the way. He was buried at Semarang in Java aged 78.

(8) Hormuz is a city on the island of Hormuz off the coast of Iran; important in former times as trade center.

(9) Cochin: coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China.

(10) Bu-la-wa (Brava): Harbour on the coast of South Somalia.

(11) Nan-bo-li: Probably the polity of Lambri/Lamuri in or near Aceh in northern Sumatra.

(12) Samudera: The Samudera Pasai Sultanate, was a Muslim harbour kingdom on the north coast of Sumatra from the 13th to the 16th centuries CE.

(13) La-sa: Duyvendak (1953) identifies it with Muscat. Mills (1970; 347-48) suggests some place on the southern coast of the Arabian peninsula, probably near Mukalla. Others put it on the East African coast.

(14) Liu-shan: A generic term for the Indian Ocean islands of the Maldives and the Laccadives.

(15) Aru: a group of islands in the Moluccas.

(16) Gan-ba-li: identified with Coimbatore in Southern India.

(17) Zuo-fa-er: Dhofar: province in Oman.

(18) Zhu-bu: Giumbo: Djoubb (El Jub): a dug, non-masoned waterhole (according to Marcel Devic p70); the name still exists in the name of the river Jubba. Must have been close to present day Kismayo. Is mostly mentioned by Chinese authors: Yakut (1220); Al-Dimashqi (1325); Fei-Hsin (1436) has Giumbo; Xuanzong Shih-lu (1438) has Zhu-bu; Zhang, Tingyu: Ming Shi (1739); Luo Maodeng (1597). Some authors say the channel mentioned by al Masudi (916) is the Jubba: “…Zinj were the only ones who had crossed a tributary of the Nile (the Jubb) which flowed into a bay or canal, which in turn opened into the Indian Ocean…”.

(19) Jia-yi-le: The polity of Cael/Kayal, located at the delta of the Tambraparni River on the west coast of India.

(20) Old Port Pacification Superintendency: This was the name used in the early 15th century to refer to Palembang. This appears to have been the successor polity to Srivijaya. A 1405 reference (Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 38.4b) notes that it was "ruled" by a Chinese person from Guang-dong. Following Zheng He's attack on the polity in 1406 or 1407, the Ming established Old Port as a "Pacification Superintendency". MingShiLu references to the polity end in 1430.

(21) Ha-li Zhi-mo (Alt: Ha-li Zhi-han); Chinese Name: 哈利之漠

(22) Zai-nu-li A-bi-ding, the king of the country of Samudera: this is Zayn al-Abidin II (r1428–1438).

(23) Ge-bu-man-du-lu-ya ; Chinese Name: 葛不滿都魯牙

(24) Bi-li-ma (Alt: Bu-li-ma) Chinese Name: 比里麻

(25) Jia-bu Bi-li-ma ; Chinese Name: 加不比里麻

(26) Ke-yi-li; Chinese Name: 可亦里

(27) Men-ni-de-nai ; Chinese Name: 門你得奈

(28) Bu-la-ge-ma-ba-hu-la-pi : Chinese Name: 不剌葛麻巴忽剌批

(29) Ha-zhi Hu-xian ; Chinese Name: 哈只忽先 ;Original Name: Haji Hussein

(30) Zu-fa-er; Dhofar: province in Oman.

(31) Mo-li-ke Na-si-er; Chinese Name: 抹立克那思兒; Original Name: Malik Nasir

(32) Duan Si-li Jian: Chinese Name: 段思力鑑

(33) Dou-wa-la-zha: Chinese Name: 兜哇剌劄 ; Original Name: Devaraja?

(34) Ma-la-zu: Chinese Name: 馬剌足

(35) Sai-fu-ding, the king of the country of Hormuz: Chinese Name: 賽弗丁 ; Original Name: Saif-ud-din.

(36) A-du-ru-ha-man; Chinese Name: 阿都儒哈蠻; Original Name: Abdul Rahman?

(37) chieftain Sha-xian: Chinese Name: 沙獻

(38) Feng-tian Gate: the gate to Feng-tiang must have been in the east of Beijing as the city lays far to the east now called Shenyang.

(39) Hu Ying, the Auxiliary Minister of Rites: Chinese Name: 胡濚

(40) Pien-hsiu; academic title of senior compiler.